It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, but if I’m writing or on the Bloodsong blog or not, you are always on my mind. Creative process follows no logic and it certainly hasn’t for me in writing Mogollon: A Tale of Mysticism & Mayhem. (How do you like the new subtitle? I love it. Wait until you see the tag line for the back of the book! And the cover!)

I received a question today and thought it was perfect to pass along to you. Some readers have complained that Numenon ends abruptly. Others have expressed their annoyance over the length of time it’s taken me to get Numenon‘s sequel to you. The answer below explains Numenon’s process of creation and what’s going on with its eventually-to-be-released sequel.

Q: Did you originally write Numenon with a view to writing a sequel, or was that something that came to you later?

A: I wrote the original Numenonas one piece. It was about 240,000 words, so huge it was totally unpublishable. The manuscript was phone book sized when printed out; something a normal adult could barely lift. The leader of my writing group said, “Why don’t you make two books out of it? Or three?”

But how to cut a book that occurs at a week-long spiritual retreat? Do you go: Vol. 1 , Sunday through Tuesday; Vol. 2. Wednesday through Saturday? Or cut it based on the action. Where?

I didn’t see any way to chop it. Finally, I realized that a big hunk of the story occurred as the Numenon group is on the way to the retreat. I pulled out the front end of the original book and named itNumenon, the book you have read and presumably at least liked or you wouldn’t be reading this blog.

Numenon ends abruptly, as the corporate crew gets to the retreat site. Perhaps too abruptly, as some reviewers have pointed out.

I had two things in mind when I created this ending. The first is a a movement from Tai chi, which is a sort of playful spinning of the hands, which for me always signified turning the world on end. Kind of a flip. So the end of Numenon is really the beginning of the next stage. A flip of reality and the start of a new reality. I thought that was cool. I always loved that movement when I was doing Tai chi, too.

WILL DUANE–Founder and CEO of NUMENON, the largest corporation in history.

GRANDFATHER—The Shaman You’re lucky he’ll say that much abut himself.

The other thing I was thinking about in my whack! ending was that I was going to publish the remaining 1,200 pages as Mogollon, the sequel right away. I had it written, after all.

(When I say in the Author’s Note or somewhere that the sequel was written, it was.) There shouldn’t have been a disjoint between # 1 and and #2, and readers wouldn’t be left hanging. (I’m so sorry. )

But, everything happened. First off, I’d learned to write about a million percent better by the time I was ready to seriously address Mogollon. Given that, I could see that the second half of the book needed total rewrite before going anywhere. Once I realized that, the sky fell in. I got the worst writers’ block imaginable. I could not write about Numenon nor Mogollon or anything related to the Bloodsong Series AT ALL. I could barely scribble out grocery lists.

Then the usual life events popped up: I had major surgery. My ankle was fused; leg bone connected to the foot bone, permanently. This was a last ditch effort to deal with severe arthritis in my ankle and allow me to walk. I’ve always liked walking. So then the rest of life marched in, depression, repression; you name it. My mother died. Really.

I’m telling you all this because I want you to know what writing is like. Do authors have magic fairy dust that allows us to effortlessly create our plots? Do we have magic charms to clear spaces in our lives so we can write our books uninterrupted? No. We’re just like you, living life with all it’s joyous and cruddy moments/years.

I am WAILING on Mogollon now. I am so glad that I didn’t publish the monstrosity I had written all those years ago. The new Mogollon has the skeleton of the old version, but everything is changed. New plot lines and characters have appeared. Old ones had disappeared. You’ll see what I’ve done soonish.

I’m hoping that we’ll be able to launch Mogollon in 2012. That’s a stretch. May have some review copies by then. I’ll keep you in the loop.

So, in a longer answer than either of us expect, that’s the skinny onNumenon. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm enormously. Keep the faith! The world of Grandfather and Will Duane, Doug Saunders and Melissa and Wesley and Bud is alive and kicking.

All the best!

Sandy Nathan

Sandy Nathan is the winner of twenty-two national awards for her writing. She’s won in categories from memoir, to visionary fiction, to children’s nonfiction. And more.

Mogollon: A Tale of Mysticsm & Mayhem, sequel to the award-winning and best selling Numenon: A Tale of Mysticism & Money, is on the move. It’s being edited now. Here’s the finished first chapter:

INTRODUCTION: GRANDFATHER’S INVOCATION

He stood in the deepest place. He stood in the place that was closest to the core. He stood in the sacred place and held the eagle feather. He raised the feather to the sky, to the sky people, to the guardians of the world above.

“I pray to you, people of the sky, be with us this week, this week be with us. Stay with us and keep us safe.” The shaman spoke in the old language, his voice rising and falling. It was neither querulous nor weak. No one hearing it would guess his age.

Hundreds of warriors watched silently, sitting in the deepest place. Grandfather turned to the four directions, one by one.

“I pray to you, guardians of the North, for the strength to overcome the cold time, to get through the hard time. Let the People come to this last Meeting. Let them come with clear eyes to see what is here. Let them see the Great One, behind and beyond and through all places and directions.”

Let them give up their strife and faultfinding, the old man prayed silently. Let them stop picking each word I say apart. Let them see you, O Great One, and stop fighting me. I am your tool and your soldier, nothing more.

Grandfather swayed on his feet, feeling the Presence of the One. Oh, Great One! You who fills all the earth, the stars; the things that we can see, and the things that we cannot see. I love you! I praise you! I worship you!

“Let the People feel the river of love this week. Let each of them learn what he came here to learn. Let each learn what she came to learn. Take away the darkness, oh Lord, and bring us your light.”

He turned to the East. “I praise you, Guardians of the East. Give us your power, the power of new life, the power of spring over winter, of awakening. Watch us and give us victory.”

Give us victory over the intruders from the outside, over the intruders from the inside, he prayed in his silent heart. Free us from the poison thoughts and feelings, from the desire to see only small things and differences. Let us see that we are the same. As you are the One, so we are one.

Bud Creeman stood next to Grandfather, circulating the smoke with his feathers. He let out a piercing cry. “I see you, Great One! I see you!” He raised his hands high.

The old man turned and held the feather over his head. “I praise you, great Southern warriors. I praise you with great love. Thank you for your peace, your serenity. Your plenty, the plenty of summer and the good harvest. Be with us this week, show us your bounty.”

Let us accept your bounty with graciousness and love, he prayed. And let us recognize a great gift when it may appear small, or not what we wanted, or not a gift at all.

And then to the West, the Western gate, the passage between this world and the other side. “Watcher of the Gate, let us die and die again, the little deaths that mean growth and change. Let the parts of us that need to die go, and the parts that need to live stay. May we pass through your doorway in glory when the last dying comes!”

And may our visitors from the great corporation get what they need this week, he voiced silently. May they have the love they need, the courage they need; may they have the will to die and be reborn.

He sang in the old language, voice rising over the Bowl. He stood in the deepest part of the Bowl, in the place they called the amphitheater, the Pit. Where the meteor stuck long before the dawn of days. Grandfather knew that the meteor did not give the Power. The Power was there before anything. The Power made everything.

“I love you, I worship you, I praise your name and glory. Be with me all my days. Protect us, oh Great One, from our enemies inside and outside.”

He sat cross-legged on the earth. The warriors were around. Rapture came to him. Tears of joy came to him. Tears of joy rose from the bliss inside. Like a sun came the Great One, like the sun of suns, splitting his heart in two, tearing him in pieces until the bliss was so great that the universe broke open and he dropped, a shining pearl, a brilliant diamond, dropped into the nothing that exists beneath all that is.

Remember: No shipping for purchases of two or more books from Vilasa Press. Contact Barry at vilasapress@gmail.com for details.

A message from Sandy Nathan:

“I’ve been thrilled and shocked and grateful this spring as the book contests announced their winners. Numenon won two more national awards in prestigious contests. All the information about Numenon’s wins is below.

“I’d like to invite you to read my book. I spent years writing and fine-tuning it until it said what it was supposed to say. More years getting it published. Now you can reap the fruit of my work and read my book at your leisure.

“I’m hard at work rewriting, re-visioning, Mogollon, Numenon’s sequel. I think you’ll agree that the promise of Numenon is more than delivered in its sequel.

“I appreciate all of you who have purchased Numenon and given me such wonderful reviews. Please let your friends know about Numenon if you’re so moved. We authors need a boost, too!

“All the best on your journey,

Sandy Nathan

NUMENON’S BOOK CONTEST WINS:

Numenon, by Sandy Nathan, is a 2009 Silver Nautilus Book Awards Winner!

In May 2009, Numenon won the 2009 SILVER NAUTILUS AWARD for INDIGENOUS/MULTICULTURAL FICTION. The Nautilus Award was established to “change the world one book at a time.” It is devoted to “Recognizing Books and Audio Books that Promote Spiritual Growth, Conscious Living, and Positive Social Change and stimulate the ‘imagination’ and inspire the reader to ‘new possibilities’ for a better world.” Previous Nautilus winners include: Deepak Chopra, M.D., Thich Nnat Hanh, Jean Houston, PhD., Eckhart Tolle, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Andrew Weil, M.D.

(The bestselling book, The Shack, was also a 2009 Silver Nautilus Award winner.)

By winning a Nautilus Silver Award with her book, Numenon, author Sandy Nathan joins the ranks of Deepak Chopra, M.D., Barbara Kingsolver, Thich Nnat Hanh, Jean Houston, PhD., Eckhart Tolle, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. All are Nautilus Award winners. “Joining the company of these people moves me to tears,” says Sandy.

The Nautilus Awards are dedicated to “changing the world one book at a time.” The Nautilus Award was established to find and reward distinguished literary contributions to spiritual growth, conscious living, high-level wellness, green values, responsible leadership and positive social change as well as to the worlds of art, creativity and inspirational reading for children, teens and young adults.

Books are judged in a three-tier system using a carefully prepared list of notable characteristics. The judging process is laborious and long, carried out by three teams of highly qualified reviewers. Each book is evaluated by at least two judges. Silver winners are selected from each category by the readers in Team #2, and these winning titles are then passed along to the third team where the Gold winners are chosen.

“What thrills me is what the Nautilus Awards are about,” says Sandy. “My writing and life are directed toward making this planet a better place. I feel like I’ve found a spiritual home with the Nautilus contest and the people behind it.”

You’ve reached the web portal of Sandy Nathan’s Bloodsong Series. The books of the Bloodsong Series take you to the world of real power––the power that goes far beyond what the physical senses can grasp or comprehend.

They also pretty well cover the world of power you can attain, buy, or enjoy. The world of wealth and worldly attainment.

Think they don’t mix? Think again.

Each book stands by itself and has its own set of actors. Some of these move to the next book, and some are left behind––one way or another, alas. This is a thrilling, tough, edgy world only for those willing to face the ultimate in themselves, and the world outside.

THE BLOODSONG SERIES BLOG CONTAINS ALL THE LATEST INFO ON THE SERIES AND LET’S YOU SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT IT.

NUMENON: A TALE OF MYSTICISM & MONEY

NUMENON: A TALE OF MYSTICISM & MONEY IS THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES.

Click on the book cover above to be transported to Sandy Nathan’s web site and all the info about the book.

WINNER OF TWO NATIONAL AWARDS!As an Advance Reading Copy, NUMENON won:

Noumenon really does mean “the thing in itself.” It comes from Immanuel Kant’s Prologomena to any Future Metaphysic, recommended reading for anyone seriously studying metaphysics. That means the entire New Age and human potential movement.

What Kant did with his path-breaking and almost impossible to read treatise––you think letters from your grandma are hard to read––is permanently remove the possibility of knowing anything as it is in itself. All we can know is the phenomenon, reality filtered through our senses. All reality is is a series of nerve impressions interpreted by our brains as: “Chair!” “Dog!” “My hubby.”

We never know if chair, dog, and daddy exist. We never reach them.

And, there’s no way of ever doing it! It’s IMPOSSIBLE.

Right there, that takes out the metaphysics as most people talk about it before reading your tarot cards.

This is obvious to anyone keeping up with science and biology, isn’t it? The brain science guys know it, the biology of the self dudes. That’s what they’re writing about. All we know are our brain’s interpretations of electrical impulses.

It doesn’t mean that you can’t have religious experience or believe in God or anything, it means that at an essential level, you can’t say that anything, big or small, really exists. You have to infer it from what your nerve impulses say.

Do you think this is radical? Yeah. People have been killed for less. “Whadya mean, you can’t say God exists? Kill him!”

But here’s the crazy guy, Will Duane, who wanted to be a philosophy major and got stuck having to get an MBA, naming his corporation after the Noumenon, which no one can touch or experience. Also, he spelled the name wrong, making it Numenon, because he was in a hurry when they were incorporating.

Does Numenon the book exist? Sure does. In about 400 pages of prime paper, Numenon is realer than your bathtub. You can get into Numenon and get lost. I made sure of that when I told Will Duane’s story. Get lost and stay lost until it’s over. And come out pickled and wanting more.

I’m going to do my best to see that you get lost again. The sequel to Numenon, Mogollon (Mow-go-yone), is on the way. And is it mad and bad! This is where it all comes down.